The Black Masquerade (Koven Chronicles Book 2) Read online

  I shook my head slowly. Most Aretes were eighteen when they Restarted—got their powers. Abel had gained his well after he hit thirty. Not only was he a late bloomer, he was a rarity amongst rarities because he’d been born with silver hair. The type of magic a person got when they Restarted depended on their hair color at that point. Blonds (always designated without the “e,” regardless of gender, when referring to Aretes) controlled Wind, redheads like myself controlled Fire. People with light brown hair controlled Water, and anyone with dark brown to black hair controlled Earth.

  After years of hard work, practice, and study, an Arete might be able to grasp all four elements. When that happened, their hair turned silver. By already having silver hair when he Restarted, Abel would have access to all of the elements.

  “Just because everything is within touch for him doesn’t mean he can actually control them,” I said. “Won’t he also need to go through a learning phase? Strengthen his brain so it doesn’t knock him out when he uses his magic?”

  Nicole nodded. “Yes, I believe so. Good point.” She glanced at the time on her phone, then gave me a sad look. “We need to take you back to the airport.”

  I sighed. “All right, let’s go.”

  As Nicole had said, my next flight would take me to Hong Kong. At that point, I was to put the potion on myself and on the outside of the plane.

  I couldn’t believe the effigy would be able to keep up, but apparently it could with only a few hours of lag time.

  When I commented on this, Nicole said, “The effigy is a magical creature. In order for it to stay ahead of the hounds, it has to be incredibly fast. And it needs to be able to access magic to keep away. It won’t have any trouble staying up with you.”

  I nodded. Hounds had the ability to travel through corners. They could take a corner in one room and end up in a room across the world. The corner had to be perfectly square—ninety degrees—but it hardly seemed fair that they were so strong and powerful and all I had was an amulet that allowed me to kill them and that sometimes hid me.

  Nicole transferred the potion from the glass vial into a little plastic soap bottle, then took me back to the airport, where we hugged and said goodbye. I held the bottle tightly in my fist until getting to security, then tucked it in my pocket, grateful it wasn’t made of metal. No one asked me to pull it out, and luckily, it was small enough for them not to have cared anyway.

  I got a call from Cole right after getting through security. I lifted the phone to my ear, pulling my carry-on behind me. “Hey, Cole. How’s it going?”

  “Good. I just ended a conversation with Chief O’Hare. He told me what was going on with you and some effigy thing. I’m flying to Seattle, where we’ll be taking the same plane to Hong Kong. I agree with Chief—I don’t feel good about you being alone right now. Not with everything that’s been going on.”

  I bit my lip, not sure whether I was okay with this turn of events. I wasn’t opposed to having company—quite the contrary. An extrovert like me needed to be around people. But I’m also a very private extrovert, and I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to let Cole in.

  Yes, I was attracted to him. Yes, I had agreed to go out with him again. But as I’d told Nicole, I just didn’t know if I could see a relationship with him working out.

  “Okay. I’ll see you at the airport in Seattle, then.”

  We ended the phone call, and I boarded my plane.

  Chapter 8

  Once in Seattle, it wasn’t that difficult to find Cole. He’d flown up from Salt Lake and was in the terminal where our plane to Hong Kong would take off. We ended up in different first-class seats, but after a bit of asking around, we were able to trade with other passengers until we were next to each other.

  Once we’d taken off, Cole glanced at me. “O’Hare asked me to let you know your house has been patched up. He and his wife made sure it happened.”

  That man—I so appreciated him and his wife. They were such good people.

  Cole continued. “He told me about the effigy. It’s supposed to protect you from evil creatures?”

  “Yeah, something like that.”

  He held my gaze, his eyes curious while also concerned. “How did you get messed up in all this?”

  I couldn’t remember if I’d told him about the prophecy. Probably not. I didn’t think it would hurt for him to know—it wasn’t like it was a secret or something. At least, no one had told me it was.

  “There’s a prophecy that says I’m supposed to destroy a certain type of demon. Before I was strong enough to fight them, they began hunting me, though. To protect me, my best friend, Nicole, created an effigy made up of my hair, skin, and fingernails. It’s been running all over the world, leading these evil demons away from me.”

  “They aren’t the fire vampires, are they?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “No. Remember that man who got mauled by a dog in Lehi? And the dog I later killed by the gas station on 500 West and Pioneer?”

  He nodded.

  “That’s one of them. They’re hounds that shift into evil people.” A bit of a simplification, but he didn’t need more details at this point.

  He leaned his head against the seat and closed his eyes, his worry making lines appear on his forehead. “This is why Chief wanted me with you.” He glanced over at me, and I saw a smile tickling the edges of his lips. “Of course, I wasn’t exactly an unwilling volunteer.”

  I returned his half smile, not sure what to say. The last time we’d been around each other, he’d basically told me he was strongly interested in me. That he liked a competition, even after I’d told him about Abel.

  It seemed he hadn’t given up. I didn’t know how that made me feel. It was flattering, yes, and it made me even more physically attracted to him, but my worries from earlier still plagued me and filled me with hesitation and doubt.

  Silence fell between us while the flight attendants asked what we’d like to drink and gave us little bags of gingerbread cookies, as if that would be enough to tide us over until we landed in Hong Kong.

  Wait, I thought to myself. I had money. Loads of it. And Nicole had bought me a first-class ticket. “Can I get a meal?” I asked the attendant as she handed us our drinks. “Do you have a menu or something?”

  She gave me an odd expression. “Meals are included with your tickets. We’ll be bringing a menu around in about half an hour.”

  I felt my cheeks start to burn. This was my first time flying first class, and besides, I’d never been a big flyer. Not because of choice, but out of necessity. Regardless of how common a way it was to travel, it was still a bit spendy. Nicole and her family had taken lavish vacations in other countries every summer, but I’d been forced to stay home and work to earn college tuition and my first car. My parents hadn’t been able to afford much.

  I wasn’t being fair, and I knew it. Nicole had worked her way through junior high and high school as well. She’d chafed under her parents’ rule and wanted to get freedom as soon as she possibly could. Luckily for her, some ancestor had gifted all their money to her. Apparently, that ancestor had saved up during their entire lifetime, expecting to be able to use the money at a later point. Well, that point never came, and Nicole had inherited the dough. Her mom had been livid.

  It was best that Nicole got it, though. Her parents weren’t exactly upright citizens. Nicole’s dad was living in Arizona now, remarried, and pretty much a stranger to his children. Nicole’s mom was still serving time for murder. It seemed that no judge was keen to let Tiffany out of prison before her fifteen years were up.

  After the stewardess left, Cole began his own personal Spanish Inquisition. He asked me a series of questions about growing up as one of the only Aretes in my schools, about Texas, and my current job. Then, as if as an afterthought, he asked me when I wanted to go out again. That totally caught me off guard, and I didn’t have a diplomatic answer ready. I had to think quickly—I really didn’t want to hurt him.

  “I honest
ly don’t know, Cole. My life is all over the place. And you already know I have feelings for Abel. Last I heard, he had feelings for me too. But even so, with everything that’s going on right now, I just can’t think about a relationship.”

  I was seriously confused when it came to men. I liked Cole and was attracted to him, but there was something about Abel that really drew me in. As I’d told Nicole earlier, I would have to figure things out eventually . . . but now, when I was sleep deprived and on an insane mission to find an effigy made up of leftovers from my body, it wasn’t the time.

  Cole put his hand on top of mine. “I understand.”

  I turned to face him more directly, carefully taking my hand away. “I’m not entirely sure you do,” I said.

  “Then help me.”

  I sighed inwardly, not sure he really wanted me to help him. “In college and high school, I popped in and out of relationships faster than a bee flits from flower to flower. But I’m not that way anymore. I’ve been—” I almost told him that my heart had been broken too many times, but that would just lead to having to explain about several previous relationships, including my ex-fiancé in California. And that was something I couldn’t bring up yet—if ever. “I just . . . I can’t open up that quickly to people anymore. I need a breather—a long breather—between relationships. And I’m honestly not sure if a relationship with you would ever be the right thing.”

  He nodded. I could tell from the expression on his face that what I said had hurt him. And that in turn made my heart twist. I hadn’t meant to do that. The last thing I wanted was to cause him any pain.

  I opened my mouth to apologize when he spoke. “You have to do what’s best for you. Don’t worry about me—I’m positive I may have a chance with you farther down the road, but I’m not the type to wait around for it to happen.” He picked up my hand and gave it a kiss. “If you change your mind, let me know, but I’ll give you the space you need.”

  He released my hand. I wasn’t sure he wasn’t holding out for the idea of us, but I was grateful he understood. I was also grateful he’d told me he wouldn’t wait around. That eased my stress about the situation a great deal.

  Something in the way he said it, though, made me feel he didn’t quite believe himself. Or maybe he didn’t understand that he wasn’t totally ready to give up the chase. He wasn’t an alpha male—not nearly as dominating as Abel or half the other men I’d been attracted to. He seemed softer, much more eager to please than he was to run out and drag something home. I’d been attracted to men who were both types before and knew I could make a relationship work with either of them. What did my heart want, though? I didn’t know. And like I told him, now was not the time for me to be making those kinds of decisions.

  Chapter 9

  For the rest of the long flight to Hong Kong, we alternated between sleeping and discussing books and movies. It wasn’t nearly as awkward as I’d expected after a “define the relationship” conversation, but then, Cole had an ease about him that was great. He seemed gifted at being able to make people feel comfortable. I appreciated that.

  Cole and I got off the plane and made our way to the terminal. The next flight took off in forty-five minutes, and I knew I was supposed to put the potion on myself once we were about to board. Hopefully, the effigy would be able to catch wind of it and follow.

  We ate at a burger joint that was way too expensive for the quality of food we were served, making small talk and generally trying to get comfortable despite the airport setting. My thoughts returned to the topic of marriage and children, and I shuddered at the thought of settling down with the threat of evil demons looming over me. Helpless, innocent little lives at risk because Mommy is being chased by evil dogs was not appealing.

  “Are you okay?” Cole asked.

  Obviously he’d noticed my shudder. “Yeah. I just don’t understand how I got tangled up in all this mess.”

  Cole gave me a half smile. “I thought you said it had something to do with a prophecy.”

  I waved him off. “It just drives me nuts that it’s me and not someone better equipped.”

  Detective Cole pushed his lunch to the side and leaned forward, clasping his hands on the table, his eyes serious. “Is there really someone who would be better equipped than you? You’re a Fire Impeder. You stop flame at the smallest spark. And these beasts have a fire inside them that needs to be put out. To me, it sounds like you’re the perfect person for the job.”

  I contemplated what he said. It made sense, but still . . . I was apparently in a pouting mood because I said, “You don’t know me very well if you think I’m perfect for the job.” The moment the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them.

  “I’d like to get to know you better.”

  I closed my eyes, shaking my head. Regardless of how tired I was, how hungry and exhausted and stressed, it wasn’t in my nature to be cruel. “I know, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. What I mean is that I’ve always been feminine and soft. Nicole’s the tough one—she was the one who wouldn’t take no for an answer, who was fine long before I even knew how to stand on my own.”

  “And she’s already faced huge trials. She’s already been called on to do things that would be impossible for a normal person. You needed your own moment, to find your own way. It’s your turn to shine now.”

  My heart warmed a little at his words. He was right. Nicole had been in the limelight for many years, and I didn’t begrudge her that. No sane person would want to take her place. But it felt good to be needed, to have an ability that no one else did, to be able to protect innocent lives and do something to pay it forward for those who had done so much for me.

  We finished our meal, and I stepped into a nearby restroom and locked myself into a stall before opening the bottle and dripping a little bit of the potion on my skin. Nicole told me it needed to be on my wrist, but I wasn’t positive why. Something about thin skin and the potion going into my system easier that way. I made sure not to wash my hands. Yuck. Leaving a bathroom without washing one’s hands was disgusting. Leaving a public bathroom without washing one’s hands was even more disgusting.

  I joined Cole as he was about to board the plane. As planned, we were the last ones on. While we walked down the little hallway leading to the airplane, I made sure I had the bottle ready with my finger covering the opening.

  Once we got closer to the airplane, I shook the container, making sure my finger was wet, then casually rested my hand on the exterior of the plane as I waited for those in front of us to get into their seats.

  I wasn’t sure how much potion needed to be on the outside. The reddish-colored liquid glittered in the sunlight that leaked around the edges of the accordion-type thing that attached to the plane. I hoped it would be enough.

  We settled into our seats, my heart racing. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the potion’s effect on me, our situation, or both. I felt something weird settling over me. A sort of déjà vu feeling I hadn’t experienced in a while. Could I sense the effigy approaching? I wasn’t sure.

  It took way too long for everyone to get settled in and for them to shut the door. Twenty minutes had passed when we finally pulled away from the terminal.

  Cole and I exchanged glances. It looked like he was worried too.

  “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” he whispered.

  I only nodded in response.

  We taxied out and had just been given the go-ahead to take off, the engines rumbling as they shifted into high gear, when I glanced out the window and saw a weird little thing tumbling across the tarmac toward us. I gasped, turning to face the window so I could see better.

  “What’s going on?” Cole asked.

  I pulled away from the window and motioned.

  His eyes bugged. “What is that?”

  “I think it’s the effigy,” I said.

  We both watched it run alongside us as the plane gained in speed. Just as we were about to take off, tons of dogs bounded onto the tarmac.
Off in the distance, several men waved, obviously yelling. The dogs were running fast—way too fast to be normal dogs. I’d never seen an animal move that quickly.

  I turned to Cole. “How fast is the plane going right now?” I whispered.

  He shook his head. “I don’t know, but hopefully fast enough that slowing down isn’t an option.”

  I turned and looked out the window, realizing Cole had a point. What if the tower asked the captain to stop?

  But no, just as that thought entered my mind, the plane’s wheels left the ground, and we were in the air. The thing chasing us fell into the distance, the dogs still racing after it.

  I exhaled in relief, leaning back in my seat and closing my eyes. We were safe. The hounds couldn’t reach us in an airplane—not without any corners to come through—and there were far too many people here even if they could.

  I hoped.

  “So, question,” Cole said.

  “What?”

  “How long does that stuff stay good?”

  “Around thirty-six hours.”

  “So, what happens when we switch planes? Do they keep following this one, or do they follow the new plane?”

  It was a good question, and one I’d had for Nicole earlier. “They follow the freshest scent. That’s why we have to apply the potion to the outside of each plane we get on, and then once we’re in England, we have to dump the rest of it where we want the effigy to end up. If we didn’t apply more potion anywhere, it would follow this plane until the potion wore off.”

  He nodded. “Glad to hear it.”

  I chuckled. “That thing isn’t dangerous. It’s the beasts that chase after it we want to avoid.”

  Cole nodded. “I know.” He leaned back, ran a hand through his hair, then rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s just hard to imagine that little monstrosity being safe while those dogs are dangerous.”

  I chuckled. “It’s not hard for me. I’m not a dog person.”